Live365 suffers a collision of misfortunes, lays off most employees and vacates office

UPDATE: Live365 closed on January 31, at about 10pm EST. (See the latest news HERE.) The page you are on now contains most of the comment discussion around the Live365 crisis and shut-down (scroll down to see comments). For all of RAIN News’ leading coverage of the Copyright Royalty Board music rates, and the expiration of the Webcaster Settlement Act which led to Live365’s closure, GO HERE. Subscribe to our daily free newsletter HERE.

Thousands of webcasters are bearing an uncertain holiday season, their businesses threatened by the imminent expiration of legislation which provided below-market royalty rates. Internet radio hosting platform Live365, one of the most venerable brands in this industry, is affected by shifting regulations that change the cost of music on January. In addition, the company’s investors have pulled support from the company, forcing an immediate financial crisis. RAIN News has learned that as a result, nearly the entire staff was laid off this week. The company vacated its office space, and the few remaining personnel are working from their homes.

The company is publicly appealing for investment funding.

Live365 was founded in 1999, and hosted small online radio stations free of charge. Payment plans were soon installed, and the ad-supported model added a commercial-free “VIP” membership in 2003 which persists today. RAIN News recently covered Live365’s launch of Podcast2Radio in partnership with the Blubrry podcast network, designed to expand audience development for podcasters by inserting their programs in streaming platforms.

The U.S. audio webcast industry is rocked by the music licensing regulations which change every five years — most recently on December 16 when the Copyright Royalty Board (CRB) released webcast rates for 2016-2020. At the same time, a special provision called the Webcaster Settlement Act of 2009 is set to expire in the new year, ending a 10-year period in which low-revenue online radio stations could pay lower royalties to labels than those paid by Pandora and other big webcast brands. With no word yet on its renewal from SoundExchange, which is sanctioned by Congress to negotiate special licensing deals with industry groups, small webcasters are scrambling to map survival strategies.

Live365 pays the licensing fees for webcasters in the platform’s Pro plan. The platform hosts many webcasters who pay their own licensing obligations. So, Live365’s dilemma is twofold — how to afford higher rate obligations for the Pro group, and whether the platform will retain non-Pro webcasters faced with dramatically higher cost. In a cruel ironic twist, it could be the most popular stations that will experience and deliver the most pain — successful stations with more listening hours than the company’s Pro threshold cannot get into Pro, and therefore might go out of business, removing large blocks of ad inventory from Live365.

As the company shops for a new influx of venture capital, director of Broadcasting Dean Kattari emphasized the potential loss of unique musical variety: “The true value of Live365 lies in it’s diversity of content – it’s a sanctuary where you can hear music and other content that it so unlike the template broadcasting that is heard on most terrestrial radio. These stations are the hard work of real human beings who use Live365 to share their vision with the world. It’s a home for musical discovery because many of these stations play emerging artists that terrestrial stations are reluctant to take a chance on. It would be a great loss for this to all go away.”

Your stations were probably deleted because they probably bolted at the first opportunity. Stations, like mine, were given the opportunity to stay and finish out the month, or leave then, and get a refund of the entire month. Since the service is expensive, I can understand why many left.

I chose to stay on until the minute the servers are powered off. There is nothing quite like Live 365 and while I’m moving to another service that isn’t like it, I’ll miss the exposure it gave my station. People could pick us up on all sorts of devices, where as now, they can only do it on their computers or on their Android or IOS smartphones. No blackberry or windows phone apps. There are people who use those.

Also, small web casters like us got hammered when the royalty services raised their rates. There are so many of us now, that the rates we pay are extraordinary. My rates have been raised three times in the last month, alone.

I may not be able to stay on the air, either. I spend money to do this, I don’t make money. That’s the way it is for most of us. We pay, pay, pay. Listens come and go and so do advertisers. I may have to start running advertising in my stream, which I have resisted. I’d rather shut down than do that. I’d rather have advertisers on my website than in my stream.

Color me blue … first day of (early) retirement and no more Live365. Listened to Bob and Julie Kern’s superb Bop City out of Carmel, Indiana (Huh? Not California? No.) for last seven-plus years until they bit the dust two weeks ago. Paid my annual dues and tuned in M-F at my office. Last two weeks, it was Just Jazz all the way from Chidlow, Western Australia. After a li’l exploration, I’m right now listening to Wayne Shorter on the BeBop option at AccuJazz.com. More choices here than you expected or maybe want. Uh, Mellow Jazz Christmas? Yikes! Live365 … RIP. You were the best kind of friend – entertaining, intelligent and always there when needed.
Straight ahead, man …
Jack Grimshaw
Southern California

Radiotunes.com (formerly Sky.FM) has a great selection of stations. Several jazz stations on their site. I pay $50 a year for the commercial free version. You seem to like the jazz as I do and I think this will fill the bill. It is also offered free just with occasional commercials.

Same situation. I figure we’re simply screwed. I’m especially annoyed that Live365 didn’t even bother to send me an e-mail letting me know I was screwed. It puts me off the idea of subscription streaming altogether.

I auto renewed December 2015 for the VIP membership like I have the last 7 years for my salon. Left Jan. 23rd to be with family and return to find they close shop. Going to contact my credit card and dispute the charge. Fraudsters!

Peter and Jennifer. 75 or a hundred bucks isn’t going to hurt any of us. The stations still weren’t making a decent profit even with the paid subs. I listen daily and feel like I haven’t been ripped off even losing a bit of money. Give the small stations a break. I hope they put the money to good use, maybe help them deal with the costs involved in closing.

No, capitalism rocks, you suck. The government, (legislation) was the underlying cause of the costs rising, and the subsequent collapse, as I understand in the above story.
Ok, you don’t suck, but put the blame where it really belongs.

The station I listened to would give the option of listening commercial free (they didn’t bother me so I didn’t subscribe), but if they had come out and said…..you NEED TO purchase an annual membership to keep this rolling, I’d have done so.

Capitalism sucks? Do you know what probably did it? A bunch of freeloaders who wouldn’t pay for radio stations or ads. Do you want the musicians to play for free? Then you wouldn’t have any. What sucks are a bunch of whiny freeloaders who expect everything for free.

Yes, I was a freeloader myself and tolerated the ads at the start but then I realized that I was being a lousy freeloader and that they all had operating costs and that if a lot were just tolerating the ads like me that the advertisers would move on and leave all the stations and Live365 probably w/o their main support and I wouldn’t have Live365 anymore. I was a VIP for most of my years with them. Do I need to stop auto card pymt now that I can’t get them anymore but is sounds that they are still around? I loved the variety; I could play Christmas carols in July, and they even carried a Christmas Jazz station or two. Yes, I love Jazz, too, and Easy Listening and BOTH are not in my radio’s reception range and weren’t at last residence. I guess it is too relaxing for most. Having the variety in one place facilitated discovering the variety of music out there so much. I will miss Live365,

Hi Mikema I also am very sad to see Live365 end. The big guns out there are OK with the new royalty payments and can cope but the smaller stations are to ones who always suffer worse. Sheer greed !! Try streamfinder and Radio.net for smaller stations Cheers Gary

I loved live365 and listened to old time detective shows since I first got my pc in 2000, plus the choices of everything from comedies to reggae and country..wow, I don’t know what to do now. What a shame..not fair either. Like Microsoft getting rid of vista on pc. live 365 was my lifeline to old time classic sam spade, Richard diamond and so many more. very very sad and upset.

I loved listening to the renfest music, but as far as the old time detective shows I also listened to (and other old time radio shows), they are available at: https://archive.org/details/oldtimeradio . I know it’s not exactly the same, but it’s a decent substitute.

I will miss it. I liked the really small stations, like the guy that ran tracks from Disney’s Haunted Mansion, or Drums of War, or the one that had a 24/7 loop of the Apollo 11 mission.

This is what you call “Crony Capitalism”. Pandora and Spotify can afford new fees and higher fees, Live365 couldn’t, Pandora and Spotify have a legion of lobbyists and lawyers. Now the new regulations come out, and amazingly enough Pandora and Spotify can afford to stay in business, and Live365 can’t. Funny how that works…

Brendan, I do not call it “Crony Capitalism.” Please DO NOT put word in my mouth. If you call it that then say so but do not say that I call it that. OK? And you need to explain your ambiguity anyway if you are going to attack Capitalism. It has its flaws but not any where near the flaws of Socialism. Ask ask someone from the U. Socialist S. R. You let the govt have all of that control and there is no incentive left to the individual to excel or generate maximum production over the long haul and you end up with what destroyed Socialist Russia. And I look at so many other Socialist countries else where now and there is so much rampant immoral corruption within their societies! It is just a matter of time. There is nothing nor ever will there be a perfect govt system but I have been around the world and will stick to the US Democratic Govt with its Protestant Ethics grounded Capitalism. It is being tainted by the blending of other religious perspectives which are from countries where Socialism and Communism and seem predicate a such types of govt where it is NOT a govt OF and FOR and BY the People but the opposite.

Socialism did not destroy the Soviet Union. It was an oligarchy. Same thing in Germany. whether you want to call the Nazis socialists, fascists, whatever, it was an oligarch government. Your right about there not being a perfect system. But when you say all other forms of government are not for the people, by the people, of the people, what does that have to do with capitalism? The USA is now closer to an oligarchy than Democracy. oligarchy-a small group of people having control of a country, organization, or institution, in our case the corporate elite
.***** Bring back pirate radio !!

Thank you. Socialism is not communism. Why do people say its this evil government. Russia is not socialist..NORWAY, SWEDEN, DENMARK ,Iceland, Greenland,Switzerland, Finland And maybe 5 other countries are. Where are the best places to live, retire, progress, be safe….Norway, Sweden, Denmark..and so on. Socialism works..when not confused with communism or worse as it is in the USA.
Thank you James rather and others that understand.

Thank you, RAIN, for your coverage of this issue. The CRB made their decision, SoundExchange laid out their policy, and then came the holidays. There’s been virtually no other source of valid information on the plight of the small webcaster except what you’ve published. I for one certainly hope that the outrage we’re not seeing yet manifests itself on January 4, when everyone from Congress to SoundExchange to labels to publishers to journalists all wake up from their winter slumber and realize what is going on.

Perhaps sometime soon you could do a story on how live365 has never notified any of it’s broadcasters of any of this, locked them out of billing pages so they can’t cancel their stations and still owe a ton of money to those same broadcasters. The shameful way that they have handled this is unethical and probably illegal. I’ve been a broadcaster there for years, but luckily bailed the day before they locked everyone out. Even if they come back some how, I’ll never do business with them again.

I agree with you Steve. I have only been broadcasting there since July but have seen things happening that was not making me very happy. They never answered any of my emails to them and was starting to advertise things on my station I clearly asked them not to. I have another station but not sure how that will do. Right now I don’t have the same amount of listeners as on Live365.

I heard the rumors about this about 2 weeks ago. I tried to get a hold of somebody there with no avail. To not notify their Pro Broadcasters (or any broadcaster) who have been with them for many, many years is not professional..This whole thing reeks.

Yes agreed! I was an employee for over 5 years and when artists would call in I would always ask them to keep track of their spins to see if Live365 was ever paying out. My tracks that were registered and played everyday of every other hour for over 5 years should have at least received a penny but no. The company was run into the ground by CEO Mark Lam who wined and dined his mistress who ran the southern CA office while everyone else suffered. A Sad day for all broadcasters! htvn.weebly.com

Simmons its really you, you used to handle my account with 365. My name is mike and my station is Melodream radio. You were very friendly to me and my staff and I want to thank you for the service you provided. Im still with 365 and as you can see we are all in trouble. What is your suggestion for my station. where should we go. 365 is all we know..lol You were our help guide years ago and I guess im still comfortable asking you for advice now!…lol

I hate to hear this. But, I was just a listener who selected about 25 radio stations to listen to, and it was great. Did not know about payouts, etc..thought they were providing a good radio service all these years and enjoyed everything I listened to. Who else combines radio from all over the world> I don’t see anything on google, etc. Wish you the best.

Small broadcasters, from hobbyest to startup, can no longer broadcast legally due to the loss of the Small Webcaster’s Agreement. Our 1200 + broadcasters have a real passion for the music they play but are too small to earn income sufficient to offset these rates. While these small broadcasters support and want artists and composers to receive recompense for their work, these same very small radio stations cannot pay the fees that are now required. This means one of the last level playing fields left for the small, Mom and Pop broadcaster is no longer available. Please join with us in seeking the restoration of the Small Webcasters Agreements as administered by SoundExchange.

HI Marvin…all are entitled to make a living off their efforts. From the contract with 365 Live Radio to the Royalty Payout schedule, it’s a very bad deal for artists. Please read below, where I prepare a mathematical equation to show the unfair balance of revenues to Artists for their Intellectual Properties. I for one, applaud the CRB for up-dating it’s requirements of on line streaming services. 16 years of being ripped off by people who propose they are doing us a favour. Show me the books to the over 5000 on line radio stations…..I’ll show you exactly who’s pockets have been being lined by our efforts.

How are these same artists going to benefit if these new rates drive the Net stations that have been promoting their music out of business? At these rates small to medium sized Netcasters cannot survive. Who benefits from driving them out of business? The artists certainly do not.

Exactly Marvin. I love the artists whose music appeared on my four small stations that were part of the Live365 network under the X5000 program and legally licensed with SoundExchange’s Small Webcaster license. For 15 years I have LEGALLY operated my stations. Then the recent CRB ruling wiped out fhe WSA and forced tens of thousands of stations out of business or into the hands of Radionomy in Belgium which is outside the reach of the Copyright Royalty Board and SoundExchange.

American’s Professional Royalty Organizations need to learn that rates that are LESS THAN WANT are better than NO ROYALTY PAYMENTS. LESS is better than NONE. Now you artists and publishers will take a HUGE cut in revenues and they owe it all to you SOBs. Hope they and you are happy. I hope you are happy with the REAL winner …. Radionomy and their parent company Vivendi.

This all could have been avoided if terrestrial radio paid there fair share. Where is the outcry from artists on this. The small webcaster can’t compete and their dreams have been lost. No one thought of a cumulative effort to make everyone thrive and succeed.

Hi Marvin,
Yes, I to an out of the picture now as our station was not supported by the general public, but out of our Social Security Retirement only. This means we have no company pensions due to companies we worked for shut down and others downsized. Therefore unless live365 gets new backers -supporters we are out of the business having a small personal Internet radio program all this due to greed through higher rates. We are a Christian radio program with great music and the word of God and have to say good-by!
dj_johnnyc
Disciples Radio

Thank u Marvin….u have always been very helpful & patient with me…..I was devastated as we did out “Farewell Show” on Saturday nite & then I had 2 shut it down. Its sad that stuff like this always happens 2 the “little businesses” & people like u who try 2 help. I sincerely hope that this madness can b resolved & u will b able 2 find a solution 2 this. Plz keep us informed….Thank u

Marvin…I just want 2 thank u for your help & patience with me. Its always the little businesses that get kicked out because of the greed. I was devastated when we did our “Farewell show” & then I had 2 shut it down…I sincerely hope that a solution can be found 2 resolve this problem. Plz keep us n the loop if anything changes. Again, Thank u

For 17 years, Live365 has offered small webcasters the opportunity to stream music and talk programming, providing an alternative distribution channel for diverse, quality content on the Internet in a legally responsible way.

Recently, the Copyright Royalty Board, the governing entity for establishing the sound recording royalty rates that are paid to copyright holders, has published the new rates for 2016-20. The previous provisions for small webcasters to opt for a percentage of revenue model were not renewed.

The current provisions end at the end of 2015. The absence of this license will make legally streaming copyrighted musical content prohibitively expensive for many small to mid-sized Internet broadcasters. Live365 relies on this license for many of their broadcast partners and, as such, has hard decisions to make regarding their future in the streaming industry.

Two weeks ago, Live365 faced an additional blow, losing the support of its investors who have helped the company with its mission for over a decade.

The company was forced to significantly reduce staff and is now actively looking for partners to help continue the service into 2016. At this time, Live365 is planning to keep their stations active while getting the word out about this investment opportunity. With nearly two decades of Internet streaming experience and thousands of paying customers, this could be an ideal situation for a company looking to diversify into streaming audio.

CEO N. Mark Lam has begun initial discussions with possible business partners as the company looks to new options in the new year.

Dean Kattari, Director of Broadcasting for Live365:

“The true value of Live365 lies in it’s diversity of content – it’s a sanctuary where you can hear music and other content that it so unlike the template broadcasting that is heard on most terrestrial radio. These stations are the hard work of real human beings who use Live365 to share their vision with the world. It’s a home for musical discovery because many of these stations play emerging artists that terrestrial stations are reluctant to take a chance on. It would be a great loss for this to all go away.”

While Live365 is going through this process, we understand that our listeners will have questions about how all of this will affect their service so we have provided a simple FAQ section to help answer some of them.

We thank you for being part of the Live365 family and hope for the best in 2016.

Rock on,

The Last of the Live365ers

FAQ

So what happened?
Please refer to the full PR bulletin here. Basically, Live365 may not be able to continue service for our broadcasters after January 31, 2016; so streaming audio may stop at that point.

Can I still get support for my current services?
We will be deferring all inquiries to email correspondence only. Technicians will be accessing emails 7 days a week throughout January to assist our listeners. For Inquiries, please email listensupport@live365.com.

How does this affect my VIP services?
Many of our stations will continue broadcasting until January 31th. You can use that time to research other streaming provider options.

I prepaid for the year/3 months/6 months, am I eligible for any refunds?
Prorated refund of services will be facilitated by requests sent to Refund@live365.com. Please note these emails will be handled with the highest priority.
So that we can quickly reply to your requests, please include at least one of the following:
Username – Email address – Account number

Why is my preferred station is not broadcasting?
Due to the new rulings of the Copyright Royalty Board, some of our stations (Personal Broadcasters) will not be issued a new license for 2016 so they might stop broadcasting at the end of December. Our Pro Broadcasting stations should continue for the duration of January.”

I have been with Live 365 for webcasting since their inception. If they fall apart it will leave my hard earned audience without several stations I have created. Stations that deserve to be heard. I can only hope and pray that the small broadcasters laws will have a continuance.

To combat the HIGH cost of the PRO’s hijacking your money you can do as I do and use DJC Media which is an ads delivery system that uses trigger files to distribute ads to offset the HIGH cost of royalties. I play 2 minutes of ads every 4th song soon to be every 3rd. I hope this pays for it.

Wow, I don’t know what to say. I, like Steve, didn’t know anything about this until now. No notice, heads up, or anything from Live365. Typical. I’ve run SpicyPimps Radio for 10 years and amassed a dedicated audience who will not be pleased. It saddens me even more because starting my own station helped me emotionally after having a stroke. This is heartbreaking news from someone who has dedicated so much time and energy into making sure that quality music gets heard versus the garbage played on terrestrial stations run by large corporations that care nothing about art or musicianship.

Can you please help me with a new one they are still letting me broadcast from live 365 but I know I have to move on. Hello I was wondering what host are you using. I’m looking for another one. Thank you for your time.

I have been utilizing Live365’s Pro plan since 2009 and like many of you, I had no idea Live365 was shutting down until a couple days ago. You would think they would have the decency to notify their broadcasters (whose money they have collected) of there issue. However, I guess that’s asking too much professionalism. I haven’t been happy with Live365’s lack of technical advancement and have been seeking an alternative streaming service. Sadly, I’ve only found one other company that covers licensing/royalties and I’m on the fence about them. Since giving up on my station is not an option, I may resort to applying for my own license.

I just found out TODAY(feb.2) Live365 is “off air”. I’ve been paying regularly: VIP member subscription( would auto renew).I learned the website shut down Jan.31.Does that mean I’m TOTALLY out of luck regards my POSSIBLE partial / pro rated refund?Like many other comments, I too did not get ANY notification ,heads up !!!

Thanks for the coverage of this issue. Like most other broadcasters (Pure Pop Pub for 7 years) the first I heard about this was from an email from Live365 today. It’s a shame. I’ve enjoyed promoting indie artists who have fewer outlets for reaching audiences than the well “labelled”. I’m afraid we are moving into a world where they will have an even harder time getting heard.

I have invested a lot of time and money into my internet station. Playing the oldies from the 50s to the 80s. Though I never had over 100 listeners, I did have some dedicated listeners who will miss my station. As a BMI songwriter, I CERTAINLY think that labels and writers should be paid for their works. This CRB and Sound Exchange have NO IDEA how this is gonna affect the entire music industry. Us independents out here, perhaps thousands of us will cease broadcasting December 31st,2015. If people can’t HEAR your music, then how can they BUY your music? Your greed or lack of thought for coming up with a fair and reasonable royalty plan for small stations will certainly end up in congress getting involved in this scam. Shame on all of you!!!!!

Simple…. We pay to have our content hosted on websites that give users content with digital tracking. That way, our product ( much like every product you consume in life) is recognized by revenues associated with Intellectual Properties that are owned by its creators !

Ironically, WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization) warned CIPO ( Canadian ) 16 years ago regarding the “Digital Storm” and how internet streaming would affect intellectual property creators. There was a complete lack of will politically to govern and enforce creators of content. Internet based radio has lined the pockets of a few corporations such as Bell / Rogers, however CRTC failed to include the artists in the revenues associated because it was a means of getting around “Mechanical Royalties”. When I hear of “the entire staff” being let go at 365 Live, it reveals that there was revenues for the same duration of the 16 year period of notification by WIPO, which suggests the station made enough for lively hoods and overhead costs however, the independent artists that you have platform to, were left out of the revenue streams. No other product is given away in this magnitude with the hopes of spin off revenues generated from potential interest future sales. Tim Hortons coffee is the same product delivered every day, and people pay for it daily, as creators of content, there was never a fair compensation model included in streaming of content, and while I understand it must be hurting those that believed they were doing service for the musicians, we truly were left out of legislative and Governed revenue compensations. The attitude of “giving a platform for unheard music” is misleading and justification for non inclusive revenue sharing, and this is why the CRB responded by making a royalty that reflects usage based more on a mechanical royalty rate. Essentially the streaming radio stations took advantage of the past 16 years and made substantial revenues associated with old model advertisement, yet Governing boards such as SOCAN could not get fair compensations for the artists they represent. The bottom line is the streaming model made money, while the artists did not…. If there is going to be radio of this nature in the future, include a model that recognizes that independent radio stations are nothing without content to perform for their 1000’s of paid subscriber clientele.

BILBO
I’ll do the math for you…..so you can see what fairness equates to. Having served the music industry in a professional capacity for 30 years, I have a firm grasp of fairness and what has transpired Globally for the past 16 years.
Lets apply the $.0011 cents per play per artist song that is on a streaming roster at 500 plays as a number one hit per month. That equates to almost 17 plays per day X $.0011 X 30 = For a grand total of $.55 cents for a month as a number one hit. $.55 X 12 months of play = $6.60 for 6000 plays of a hit song. NO BUSINESS can survive on $6.60 for 6000 cups of Tim Hortons Coffee. I will state this very clearly, the perception that 365 Live Radio gives, is that it was hard done by in paying out the revenues of $1 million dollars last year to Royalty collectors. I would venture to do the math …..24 hours per day X 60 min = 1440 min of potential air time per day. 1440 min divided by average of 3:30 min per song = 436 songs potential with no advertisement. 1440 X 7 days = 3054 per week X 4 weeks = 12218 per month X 12 months = 146,618 potential plays per year minus 365 advertisement time slots. You ready for the real math now…..multiply the entire plays times the payout to Royalty Collectors SOCAN Music, BMI, SESAC at this math and it equates to $161.28. As I stated earlier Todd, the current renumeration model to artists is grossly underpaying it’s creators, and you really have to advocate on behalf of the artists struggling to survive at this kind of payout.
I finished the equation out of interest this morning….on Live 365 site, states at the top “5000 plus stations”. When you multiply $161.28 X 5000 radio stations, it comes to $806,400.00. Now divide that by the artists that get played on that many radio stations, I used the number 20,000 to represent the roster of artist played in heavy and light rotation. $806,400.00 divided by 20,000 artists = $40.32 per year pay out per artist. I hope this gives you a real world perspective on the realities of what the streaming of our Intellectual Properties truly equates to.

When you have the ability to do the real world math of how streaming has hurt the creators of Musical content, you would see the perspective of fairness grotesquely out of blanche Bilbo.

@Walter Actually Dean is nowhere near “right”. His walk-back math and reverse engineered assumptions are bloody abysmal. Apparently he doesn’t even know the difference between a sound recording performance royalty and a publishing royalty. It’s a gob of messy and clueless arithmetic.

Oi vey…fun with number one numbers.
1. 500 plays/month? HUH? LMFAO
2. Your formulae is such a convoluted, nonsensical of mix oranges, apples, and assumptions I don’t know where to begin. BMI? ASCAP? WTF?
3. When you have the ability to discern & cipher how the CRB performance royalty calculations/distribution are in fact done and actually work in the real world, you would see how your fat fingered assumptions and guhzinntas grossly messes up your abacus. :facepalm:

Bilbo….slow down and read….!!! 17 plays a day of a potential number one hit X 30 days (for an average calendar month) = 510 potential plays. Then you can do the rest of the math from there, I hope this helps you understand better.

The bookkeeping on all of Live365’s stations’ performance fee payments should be on record at SoundExchange. Under the law, performances were supposed to be logged and submitted to them so SE could distribute the accompanying payments to artists and copyright holders accordingly. If those records are not being made publicly available for review or audit, then that’s an issue of transparency at SoundExchange.

Also, Dean, you’re not taking into account in your math that a performance, or “play” as you put it, is calculated on a per listener basis. So a “hit” song would garner astronomically more than 500 performances or plays per month on a popular stream. If a song was played once during a time when 500 listeners are connected to the stream, that would be counted as 500 performances or “plays” for that one transmission of the song.

Also note, under the statutory license that the vast majority of Live365 stations comply with, a stream is not allowed to play the same song 17 times per day like your example, only once per 3 hours, which is 8 times a day. No matter how big of a hit, that’s a limit set in the rules to be eligible for such a license.

However, if your example were possible, and there were 500 listeners for each time the “hit” song was broadcast, playing that record 17 times a day would result in approximately $275 a month in fees at .0011 per performance, not 55 cents total. Your total assumes only one listener the whole month. Hope that helps.

Hmm…on the surface, the point seems to be well taken. However, is the artist stupid enough to just have one station playing the songs? And are these stations only playing one of the artist’s songs?
I would assume not, so those numbers need to be altered to accommodate these multipliers to get the accurate revenue – which will work out to be substantially more.

Most if not all streaming companies have never made any money. Live365 has never turned a profit and was only propped up by foreign investors. Those investors finally had enough and finally pulled the plug.

Dean, your math is indeed wrong. The rate is not just per song, it’s per *listener* too. Now go rerun your numbers. That “$.55 cents for a month as a number one hit” is then multiplied by the number of listeners hearing it. Changes the final number a bit, wouldn’t you agree?

Now do you see what I was telling you earlier? The fact that you are questioning that the “number of listeners” is not part of the royalty calculation and distribution process proves hands down that you have no clue whatsoever what you are talking about on this issue. I tried to tell you (rhyme with mean) Dean. #facepalm

Your knee-jerk math and acidic attitude is bogus.

Do yourself and us a favor by paying a visit the SoundExchange site and get back with us. They have a primer (Music Licensing 101) there that is required reading for folks like yourself. You’d be amazed at how many “30 year music industry veterans” learn something and come away with a new understanding.

At the very least (maybe) you won’t be so quick to spread mis-information…Dean.

It’s easy Joe … goto Radionomy.com … get your FREE station … play your music …They have 50,000 stations …. which are OUTSIDE the reach of the US Copyright Royalty Board and its rules/regulations and NOT UNDER THE THUMB of the PROs in America who will NOT be paid ONE DIME for any of their music you play. YES … they WIN and will soon realize HOW MUCH THEY HAVE LOST. And, artists everywhere can count their lucky stars because they were NOT happy with royalty rates less than they wanted and NOW will lose ALL ROYALTIES to the stations which have been legally paying royalties to them which have been INCREASING each and every year UNTIL 2016 when they PLUNGE to ZERO. BRILLIANT .

Tony…..Happy with Royalty rate payouts would suggest that there was a balance put in place for both parties. As I stated earlier, we are “interdependent” upon. When I walk out of a business meeting, both parties have to have a smile on their face for the negotiation process that made both compromise and win. Again, I invite you to post the book keeping for the past 7 years from over 5000 radio stations….I’ll even write you a song called “Smug Bastard”.

This has been anticipated since 2006, when the CRB tried to force ridiculous rates. Live365 was the first to call them and SoundExchange out on this sham. What it all comes down to is, the music industry is going to bite off their nose in spite of their face. And the most affected will be independent music artists who will no longer have a voice to showcase their talents. Get ready for 24 hours of One Direction.

We can thank our congress with passing legislation to eliminate small radio and Internet broadcasters and favor large corportions whow can shell out the big bucks to pay royalties . These are small business owners who love to play good music and live what they are doing.

Agreed. Alas, we don’t have DiMA and a nascent Pandora coin on our six this go round. It takes a good bit of cash to do a walk & talk in DC. “We” are simply too bifurcated and were caught with our pants down. Time forward backlash is all we have now.

I don’t suppose it’s occurred to you that every – EVERY! – effective change in policy or bullies or government, has begun with a group of disenfranchised voices expressing their grievances to one another, allowing them and others, an idea of who or how many they are? Even the pitchforks-and-torches crowd in Dr. Frankenstein’s home town would have had a town council or a tavern meeting before deciding to storm the castle, right? Well, considering the lack of reporting on the subject, and the fact that this is one of the few news resources geared towards our interests, why would you think that feeling one another out on this issue right here is, “doing nothing”?

Suppose?
Actually Peter, the exact method of grass roots policy change you mention is very familiar to me. It also happens that it was this defacto issue 8 years ago where I (along with a tribe of webcasters) walked this talk on Capitol Hill. As a result of our efforts, on May 5, 2007 “we” achieved a stay of execution on the rates set by CARP (aka CRB). RAIN has the archive articles of that monumental event somewhere.

This in turn led to a rebirth and revised Small Webcasters Settlement Act that literally saved thousands of Internet radio stations. I was also part of a coalition that yet again traipsed the marble floors of Congress in 2012 in support the Internet Radio Fairness Act.

[sigh] Too many days early, lackluster webcaster support, and on going dollars short; that effort/Bill died with little headline– despite numerous sit downs with Senators and Representatives and a ream of testimony letters on Judicial Committee Chairman Goodlatte’s desk.

Anyway, my point above was that sadly Small Webcasters were not represented this go-round at “nut crunch” time as in past episodes. Hence, my “backlash time forward” statement is what we’re left with presently.

Is there still time to rally troops? Of course there is and I will support and applaud every effort going forward. Thing is… Congressional action = Molasses. So (at best) see you in 2018 for any official govt. reprieve.

In the meantime, not many stations will want to risk retro-active payments if nothing is absolved relatively quick. Most will simply turn off their servers.

I’ve been a long time broadcaster with Live365 2004, ScifiRadio.com and I’m sorry to say that I too only heard of this just now from a listener. It doesn’t sound like there are too many options either, other than ones that cost way too much.
@stopventing
Online petition??? I think we’ll need something with a little more umpf than that. I’m not sure what that is right now.
To all the other Live365 broadcasters: I love you guys and gals for all the work you have done and all the music you have shared!

I’ll be kind to the owners of these radio stations and give you a real solution for your dilemma. All you have to do is change your model to suit the requirements. Make your radio station a viable platform for artists to decide who they want to play their music. Artists can register their material, the same as they would on other sites for instance CD baby, iTunes etc. and they can pay to have their content registered for regular or interval light rotation. Now the artists are paying to agree to have their music played, and they essentially are the RECORD COMPANY of true independence. I just don’t think any of the Radio Station Owners are thinking outside of their own pockets…..and you can’t cry the blues forever, when there were obvious payouts from associated advertisements. I’m appalled at the abuse of artists with the justification of “giving a platform” they would not otherwise have. The artists have real world costs associated with the creations of music, and this streaming model has taken advantage for far too long with very little payout. If you give me access to the over 5000 on line radio stations book keeping, i’ll show you the grotesque imbalance of revenue sharing, and just who’s pockets our efforts have been lining.

As a Live365 VIP listener since May 2009 I think this is a very sad time for us all. I have enjoyed litterally tens of 1000’s of hours of wonderful music much of which has led me to spend a small fortune on albums and tracks mostly from new or little known artists. I fear the CRB haven’t quite thought this one through properly?
If these new proposals become rubber stamped then I think it will be a disaster especially for new artists as they will all struggle to get any airplay.
All artists have a right to be paid a reasonable rate for their work so surely we can come up with a solution that apeases all parties and that includes the webcasters who bring us the music to listen to in the first place.
In a nutshell: The artists produce the music, the webcasters play the music and the listeners (like me) buy the music. How bad is that in the grand scheme of things?

Hi David….
Love that you purchase your music as a result of hearing it on stream cast, and we certainly appreciate your loyalty to the artisans who create the music. The reality of the business model that slipped under as a result of the development of the “Information Highway” was vastly unknown and very unregulated. Imagine if all Highways were created with no set rules and regulations, and the powers that be to regulate. Utter chaos…..quite frankly. Our musical industry, that I have been involved with over 30 years professionally has been harmed greatly by the abuse of Streaming and P2p share. The biggest issue is that Bell / Rogers / Cogeco reward themselves with the associated Data usage by clients, and make very little contributions to the artists. The “discernment” between binary associated with Digital Economic Transactions is of no difference then the binary associated with music, except that it is geared towards music or music video only. The political will to enforce the binary associated with our Intellectual Properties was tossed aside while Pirates of the World, took complete advantage of our song creations. What the CRB has done, is claw back to achieve the mandate set out by our Coalitions and Agencies that represent our interests, similar to a Union would for Teachers. The value of our product is to be determined by the creators and owners, and not to be under or devalued by society and those that give platform. I hope this gives a better sense of the realities we have faced for the same duration that 365 Live Radio Stations have existed. They aren’t the “Bad Guy”…..but I invite them to show me the past 7 years of book keeping for over 5000 on line radio stations, I’m positive there was a profit margin that was grotesque by comparison to what the payouts were to the artists they depend on.

Proclaiming we’re going to change the world by shutting out all the big artists in favor of unknowns is a ludicrous proposition. I know in my case, my audience is more likely to just be at the on-ramp of exploring music again, they’re only used to being courted by familiarity and tight rotations. Most of my selections are unfamiliar while still musically accessible , but the artists still need to exist in these listeners’ worlds for them to relate. So I couldn’t execute my programming strategy without a percentage of the music having slam-dunk appeal to a lesser-adventurous palette, without overpowering (or even defining!) the station sound overall; think of it like crossing a pond by running fast on the lily pads.

If the big radio players are so reluctant to adopt unfamiliar audiences, does anybody really think this will motivate them to expose more newbs to a playlist based on the claims of “greatest hits”? Could a CRB judge even make that argument out loud without giggling at the absurdity? Well, I suppose he could if he enjoyed last night’s steak dinner, courtesy of….?

No question, artists need to be paid, but equally by all players, and getting a free pass because you already have a stick in the air is just absurd. Rewarding publishers and copyright holders while cutting out artists was never a fair business model, and they know it.

But even if all of our minicasting efforts were just based on de-programming the general public for the sole pleasure of coming into work without seeing Gail in Accounting wearing a, “I’m a Belieber” t-shirt, we fail to acknowledge that, small players in the broadcast world or no, we’re not really here to evangelize new artists. We’re here to put them on our playlist not just because we’re promoting them, but need them to entice our listeners to choose OUR entertainment, and that’s why the Stones get to sell $200 tickets while Duncan Shiek needs to charge $20 to fill a coffeehouse.

Bottom line, I’m willing to pay my fair share, but I’ll be damned if I’m going to pay iHeart’s, too. As if all of the nation’s webcasters even could.

Peter….it’s a compliment to know that after 16 years of streaming, the offer to pay “fair share” now exists. You have to admit, especially after noticing the Secretary in Accounting t-shirt, you may also have been witness to profits that were associated with advertisement revenues, and you may also have noticed they were sizeable enough to pay for having not only Gail in Accounting but several others who relied upon the business model. WIPO warned of the “Digital Storm” coming, and the realities are at the opposite end of the pay scale. Our industry is one of the most under regulated industries in the World. As artists and creators of Intellectual Properties, we take the time to see through the process of registry through the Library of Congress, CIPO, SOCAN, BMI, ASCAP only to watch our creations be utilized by millions and rewarded so very little, not to mention the Contract of Agreement with Radio 365….Jesus, why anyone would sign that, is beyond me. It’s a direct reflection of the attitude that exists towards artists. It takes full advantage of starving artists, to the point that if there’s even a contentious issue brought by a third party, it makes the artist who signed responsible for covering 365 Live Radio Court costs…..???? Did artists read this clause…Good God. It does nothing to show it’s vulnerability and accountability to the artists including access to the “Accountant Gail and her efforts you speak of” quarterly, or yearly. How can an artist verify the payout associated with Schedule A, if it’s a number that is generated is solely from digital tracking. There’s nothing regarding sharing of “HOT CLOCK” advertisement dollars that Radio stations utilize favoured tracks during those times to entice listeners to “Stay Tuned”. Those revenues should be shared with the artists to reward the realities of the fact they are being used to attract advertisers to the online Radio Product.
Much like oil, food and water….if the resources are depleted, the people will realize and hunger again, creating concessions that benefit all parties involved.

For most of the last century, radio paid no performance royalties and the music industry had no complaint. In fact, we were offered money to play their music–legally, not just payola–so the value of airplay was recognized. Artists made their money on record sales and by touring. Since the digital revolution killed record sales, the RIAA looks to replace that income by raping broadcasters, internet or otherwise. They are predatory, and fool the artists into thinking they will be taken care of. Tell you what, I’ll voluntarily pay $100,000 per year per play of any Dean Hajas written “hit” song if the rest could back off and be fair.

Hey Paul
That would be a welcomed start of recompense. I have over 89 million tracked plays of my songs, and my son and I barely scrape by. The under regulated music industry at large, is nothing short of MAFiOSO. This is about making all parties respectful to the Artisans and their Creations. We attract advertisement dollars on HOT CLOCK portions of the day. The pay outs don’t reflect the associated revenues generated. If you agree to pay out the $100,000.00 per year for the past 16 years, it would be a welcomed drop in the bucket. I currently sit on a vault of music publishing, ready to release when Political Will, meets Enforced Regulations. The Public are not without fault either Paul, but Trump concentrates on telling the people what they want to hear, not what they need to hear. Imagine a politician running for Presidency telling the voters, “they better pay up, or face court charges” as part of a political platform. This move by the CRB is a result of a coalition that is standing up to the portions of the equation that we have muscle to enforce.
When you mention that you would pay out a $100.000.00 to me per year per play….if the rest could be fair….Paul, the entire past 16 years broke our hearts man, we were the most vulnerable as artists, and many took advantage of our personal soul searching efforts.

But they don’t have a customer service phone number… How do we know if they cover licencing? I read something fishy about bills being able to become the burden of the broadcaster… where can we learn of broadcasting limitations?

Zachary – do tell. I would love to hear your suggestions. Right now, it looks like radionomy.com will get my first attention unless others make suggestions.
@Dean as an artist who has had my work used without consent or compensation I hear you, but I have to think that you may be missing some of the larger points.
1. most Live365 broadcasters don’t make a dime, and many probably lose money. I did.
2. I’m sorry, but I just don’t believe that you didn’t make any money from having 89 million plays of your music. Most artists would PAY for that kind of advertising.
3. The fact that the new rates are forcing Live365 out of business should tell you that that model is very destructive and short sighted. Everyone loses.

With Live 365 shutting down what would this mean for Radionomy.com who owns shoutcast? Would American stations on its service continue? They don’t use soundexchange. Radionomy get their licence for all stations from SABAM out of Belgium.

Given that Radionomy tunnels their obligations via IFPI reciprocal agreements it’s anyone’s guess on how, when, or if ever SoundExchange, et. al. will gripe about any “shortfall” as a result of the new rates. Apparently the US PROs have been content with “the arrangement” all years gone by.

It’s such a twisted colon no one has the staff or stomach to mop up and police the bathroom in the backroom of their storefront. 😉

I was on Radionomy too. They let you start up, but required a minimum listener hours per month. If ya don’t make the cut, they pull your station in short order. If you make the cut, they add commercials to your stream and pay royalties that way.

Bit by bit independent artist are being cut out of any chance to succeed.
The whole royalty system is so corrupted to suit the three major record companies and protect the major market radio stations.
The entire attack on online radio, streaming services is solely backed by that hand full of corporations. They do not want to lose control over who gets to listen to what they choose.
The old laws governing royalties should be scrapped and new laws accommodating new technology introduced. The change has begun and it will not subside.

One of my favorite stations on Live365 was a British station. Since it’s a British station, if they decide to continue streaming, I’m guessing they’ll switchover to a British or European streaming service.

Hard to swalow the fact that this broadcast entity will face a certain DOOM. I started up with Live 365- 7 years ago with the intent to bring Underground Dance, House Music to the masses along with weekend mix shows hosting DJ’s from all over the country and from other parts of the world.
I forged some solid relationships in the industry that I would never had done so if not for this media outlet. The listeners will surely be upset due to the fact that they will no longer have an outlet from Chicago to hear music from up and coming artists as well as DJ’s from all over the world.
I put my heart and soul into the programming and I can only hope that something can be done to give Personal Broadcasters a means by which to continue the trade without raping them with FEES!!!

Someone mentioned: “Relax and enjoy the holidays and something will get done afterwards.”

It’s now January 8th and nothing at all is getting done to prevent SoundExchange from demanding the same rates from Small Webcasters as Pandora and IHeart Radio have to pay.

So, is this it? No one cares? Nobody is talking about this issue.
This article should be stuck at the top of this newsletter. Now, it’s buried underneath all the articles about how IHeart Radio is hiring new staff and how much money they are projecting to make from new ads.

I guess everyone is comfortable with the concept of how big your bank account is determines how loud of a voice you have in Washington DC.

This is how the Small Webcaster’s are going to go down in flames? Are we Cowards that don’t want to speak up? Shameful what the USA has become.

Sorry… I refuse to go down without a fight. I’m gonna start an all out campaign again, yes I’m a thorn in their side. I say NO! Corporate America is just greedy and I aint taking it. Don’t under estimate the little guy!

When I started 16+ years ago live365 was the only site of its kind. Mp3 was still new technology and the world didn’t quite get “IT” yet. In the past 10+ years, listeners dwindled to due to over saturation of similar streaming sites, FM station streaming and sites like Spotify and Pandora. If a miracle happens and some investors step in, I’ll stay, but otherwise I think I’m done….. so good luck to those who choose to fight.

Exactly. Between the Spotify type streaming and the ability to carry one’s MP3 collection everywhere, listeners have much more control over exactly what artists and songs they want to hear than they did 16+ years ago.

Can someone get this on CNN’s website?
Back in 2007 this topic made national news. It’s problematic because the only people discussing this are the one’s directly involved, station operators, and their hosting providers.

The masses, such as the listeners, are needed to sign the petitions out there right now. No one is promoting this topic correctly.

Same with me as it is with Idol Girl. I’ve passed the news on about this to my family and friends who listen to streaming, but most of them have gotten more hooked on the Spotify type streaming these days than the Live365 type streaming.

As a legal broadcaster on Live365 since 2001, I have to say that as a station owner there, it certainly never was a venture that lined my pockets. Quite the opposite – it generally lost money or broke even at best. In 2015 I paid out over $1500 and brought in $112. The difference was paid out of pocket.

My station is classic country and many artists are no longer living.

The bigger picture is that, even if a new SWA is written now, this battle will come up again in 2020. It’s a no-win for the small webcaster.

As for me I am undecided about whether I want to start all over again on a new streaming platform. The ROI is just not there.

For the immediate future I am concentrating on a low power FM station instead. That is enough of a challenge – but going from streaming to terrestrial radio feels like a step backwards.

Oh Live365. My first streaming host. I remember when the CRB came through years ago and Live365 raised its prices. A lot of us left back then. Now its going up again.. and no personal broadcasters? I don’t know that the PRO stations can keep the platform running on its own. Good Luck to all. I moved to another platform and have been up and running for 3 years now.

I am mildly surprised at these events but not shocked. I had a sneaky feeling something other than chicken was in the soup last year when I noticed the problems with ads running roughshod over the listener pages and lack of response from support. So I closed my station last year (still suffering withdrawal mind you). Now this. Its a shame because there were some really good people there I will remember who made it a great experience. … All for the love of money… sheesh.

WOW THIS IS HEAVY & SHOCKING TO FIND OUT THIS WAY. LIVE365 IS IS TRULY A UNIQUE PLATFORM & YES I WOULD HATE TO SEE IT SHUT DOWN BUT WHATS GETTING ME IS THE ROYALITIES & PERCENTAGES THAT ARE NEW TO ME OUTSIDE OF THE ARTISTS ROYALTIES & IM JUST NOW LEARNING THAT OUR STATION COULD’VE GOTTEN PAY FOR PLAY WTF…….NOW THIS NEEDS TO BE FIXXXED FAST……DAM WHEN THINGS GOING GOOD SOMETHING OR SOMEBODY ALWAYS MESS IT UP DAM LIVE365…..I REALLY LIKE YA’LL BUT SOETHING NEEDS TO CHANGE & FAST……IM SITTING HERE THINKING HOW MANY CHECKS HAVE WE MISSED OUT ON & WHY ARE YOU NOT TELLING YOUR PRO BROADCASTERS THE BUSINESS…..THATS NOT KOOL AND YOU ALREADY PAID……WOW…..TALKING ABOUT NO GREASE FRFR……OVERALL IF THEY SHUT DOWN THEN KOOL THEN WHAT……SOUNDS LIKE EVERYBODY WAITING ON LIVE365 PRO BROADCASTERS TO COME TO THEM & THEY TOO WILL JACK US AROUND……ITS A SAD DAY IN RADIO BROADCASTING RIGHT NOW & TO THINK TODAY IS NATIONAL DJ DAY…….DAM DAM DAM

For those of you who are affected both directly as webcasters and indirectly as supporters/listeners should join The Siren Campaign. This campaign was created by IBNX Radio, an online radio network; in the light of the recent legislation being passed to bring awareness to the incredibly outrageous fees and rates now implemented by Congress. We all love the diversity of what online radio brings us. So we urge you to show your support for it’s time to #SoundTheAlarm join #TheSirenCampaign today. Simply visit http://www.thesirencampaign.com choose your platform be a supporter, broadcaster, service provider or talent and then most importantly…#SignThePetition we have to take a stand and let our voices be heard. Tell Congress this is unfair and will not be tolerated. Webcasters are vital to the music industry and affects us all. Thank you #RainNews for this article we need more coverage about this issue to help bring awareness to the masses! Visit Today http://www.TheSirenCampaign.com #SoundTheAlarm Let’s help webcasters like IBNX Radio and Live365 stay online and in business!

Wow. I only found out about this this morning when I was looking for something else in my junk/spam e-mail folder. I’m a month behind the times – and just in shock. What a total bummer. Vista Records Radio has had a fairly loyal listener base and we’ve done our best to provide a lot of music that people wouldn’t hear otherwise. Alongside great guitar driven Classic Rock we played deep album cuts from some of the best Hard Rock and Heavy Metal bands from the last 40+ years, and have played a ton of music from lesser known bands and newer bands who fit in with the styles of music we played. I’m just trying to see what exactly is going to happen and to find out if I’ll get a pro-rated refund for the 7 months that will end up being unused. I’ve got a bad feeling about that. If anyone has any ideas about other platforms for the station let me know. Thanks! It’s been a fun ride, but it looks like that’s just about over.

I listened to your station Erik. It was good. I had Rogue Rock Radio but decided to shut it down because it was costing me too much. It is sad that many of those who were willing to put up their own money so others could hear off-the-beaten-path music will go silent. But corporate America knows what’s best for us, right? I know that Dean is angry about not being adequately compensated for the fruits of his labors, but small broadcasters who were losing money aren’t the culprits. We were also not being compensated for our sweat equity. Someone was making money but it hasn’t been the little guy for a very long time. It’s been the Wal-Marts of the music business that have screwed small broadcasters and artists alike. We know who’s been getting screwed. Why not go after those that have been doing the screwing rather than blaming each other?

I’ve a polka station “Mike’s Texas Polkas’ for 13 1/2 years since 2002 and enjoyed this hobby which I made no many on. I will really miss this. Guess all good things must come to an end. I promoted my station by giving out caps, koozies and tee-shirts at dances, festivals and Czech church picnics. I’ll never forget these years

I was one of the Founding Broadcasters since 2002 on Live (now dead) 365.com with almost 1400 tracks of solo piano in the new age genre all contributed by artists and promoters. I have several hundred more tracks awaiting selection and uploading, At 85 years young, I’m not doing this to make money but just want to help composers and musicians market their music. Just wondering if any streaming providers have a senior discount? I’m looking at Radiotomy but it appears to be rather complicated for the beginnings of senior dementia. Any others to consider?

Now that i too have learned the fate of now dead 365, does anyone know if whoever “they” are will be refunding money to those of us who still had money in our now nowhere to be found Live365 accounts? Please advise. Thanks.:(

I was devoted to Russkaya Solyanka, which played russian contemporary music. I had developed a love of that kind of music while working in Russia 10 years ago, and immediately on my return found Live365 and that station. I also listened to Biker Bar from time to time. Both great stations that will be missed if they do not miraculously return somehow.

I’ll like to share i was a broadcaster with Live365 back in 2001,and drop it in 2005 and went to shoutcast where i had better control over my stream so any one that looking for a great hosting also keep your radio legal check these guys out they great…

This is really very sad. I have listened to Live 365 for many years, primarily to the Blues stations . As a result I got to hear of many lesser known, but damn good Blues artists from around the World . And I would then hunt down and buy their cds , or tracks via digital download. That won’t happen any more . A big shame.

I am not believing this… first Imeem, then Grooveshark,…then I found Live365 and just new from the number of years it’s been up and running this was the online radio for me and my workplace. I service a college lab where students studied and loved the Smooth jazz mellowblend. This was a big attraction last year! Study time increased for my lab and a science student brought me a research report done in Asia that proved listening to instrumentals increased work output and study productivity for students! They couldn’t wait to return to my area only to find the station gone and no one having the same smooth jazz instrumental format. No one liked Pandora and its unpredictable output.

I simply don’t trust any of these anymore unless somehow Live365 returns and I know about it… I’m just going to have to invest in a playlist and find all of those artists, half of which I never knew the names or song titles. This is not a good for listeners nor artists, at all.

Has ANYONE gotten a REFUND? Or is this a foolish question.
I got only 3 mos. out of a 2 yr subscription before Feb 2016. I wrote Refund@live365.com and got an automated acknowledgement that “A Live365 Support representative will respond to you shortly.” That was Feb 1, 2016, but haven’t heard anything. I listened to them for years and heard music I’d never been aware of and am afraid I won’t find that kind of variety on other services.

This has destroyed the freedom of being able to bring music of this country to the world and the US to loose the music from around the world. No all Genre’s are played on land stations or Internet stations. Its the big money grabber’s like the Sound Exchange and the rest to bamboozle artist to believe they will make tons of money from taking it from anyone they can Con!

I am in Canada and I have a simple streaming website that plays Vegas style 50’s & 60’s music, I only pay $110 a year CND to have a license to broadcast..I am non profit, but i still get to stream some great music… I guess this new law in US does not apply to Canada, yay Canada! TheLoungeSound.ca

RIP Radio Mystic… I would listen for hours to help with my anxiety issues related to my PTSD condition while working. It allowed me to be productive and handle a stressful job. Bummer… I’ve been streaming Spa from Sirius/XM but it isn’t nearly as good or effective. The search begins…

Hi, I was customer and member of Live 365 in Germany since 1999 or 2000, have paid yearly my fee of – I think – $75.00 and liked the variety and stations and their musivc very much. I have not used live 365 since a couple of month, but now wanted to start again to day and I still do not really understand, what has happended – but I understand that Live 365 is finished and will not come again.
So to which station with good Jazz music, good Easy Listenings , good Lounge and Chill muicic. Who wants me to get as a customer or where should I go and who can give me an advice? Please send me a note .

I just heard about the 365 situation. I am in shock! Perhaps it is somehow new for you at the 1st world, but this sort of action is quite usual at least here in Brazil. A political bureaucratic take-over that favors a few and prejudice a lot, both financially and culturally, and, worst of all, represents an attack on liberty. If this was done at some third world country would be the first to raise their fingers accusing them of terrorism, or using it as an excuse to bomb or send troops to fight for freedom! This is an terrorist act because it destroys life using a powerful mass destruction weapon: money. It is very sad to see this dirty political practice being adopted. Shame on those who approved it.

I will miss Live365. It’s been so long that I can’t remember how I discovered them. I enjoyed the R&B stations I listened to and will miss them as it made my work day more pleasant. My top two were WEJR and Groove Central.

What a bummer. I’ve listened 365 for what seems like forever. I discovered them in about 2000 or so. I’ve been watching internet radio evolve over the years and of course noticed Clear channel elbowing their way into the game w/ I Heart Radio. I’ve never used I heart and probably won’t ever either. Clear channel has too much control over what we hear. Now there’s this outfit called “spreaker”. Haven’t looked into it too much but clear channel owns it. Seems you can podcast. I poked around here/there. Music is present on the site. I dunno, makes me think clear channel may have had a hand in the internet radio game squeezing out 365. My 2 cents

Wow. I was about to update my playlist for my very small radio station that I had on Live365. I had just a few minutes ago set up domains and website hosting under my DJ name. I was never made aware that Live365.com was closing. They were very nice folks there and I am going to miss listening to a lot of the stations out there and having my station on there. I really feel sorry for those who were laid off and the broadcasters out there. Even though my small station was done as a hobby I know there were folks out there in 365 land who was making some income out of it. I hope that Live365 can make it another go.

Damn, I really enjoyed L365. Just went from a vurtial computer back to a PC at work again and was so looking forward to ditching the same old same old classic rock station. Really enjoyed the Smooth Jazz and the New Age.
Life goes on.

I have been a LIVE365 listener for about 5 years. I really liked many stations, a favorite was BlueTikiLounge where I could hear cheeky lounge music heard no where else!! I have logged into Live365 a few times recently to play at work, and just got the thank you screen. I got busy and didn’t think about it until I realized that I could not exit out of that screen–so did a google search for live365 and found this article and all of the comments. I am surprised that this happened, for the artists, the radio producers, and listeners like me! I went ahead and started looking into other streaming sites. I hope I find one with similar content to what I love listening to. And Blue Tiki, best of success with your next venture. You are one in a million, and I would love to see you get back on your feet.

This is terrible news. As a “Pro” subscriber (listener) I will continue to hope that Live365 can somehow be reinstated, and I for one would resubscribe if they are, provided that the subscription fees would be reasonable. (It would be nice to get some kind of credit for the balance of my paid-upfront annual subscription fee, too…) Like many who have posted here, Live365 was a very important part of my life, and anything (e.g., legislation) that would result in the loss of such a fine source of music and the “life support” for so many people, including myself, that the music made available by stations on Live365 provided, cannot be a good thing. If any positive news regarding Live365 becomes available, I hope that all of the posters on this site (rainnews.com) will be notified.

Very sad to hear. I have been a VIP member for 10 years. One of the few affordable pleasures left under 5 bucks a month. It was one of the greatest things to ever hit the internet. Politics, government as usual ruined everything. Very sad. I hope they come back

i was a VIP member and so enjoyed the variety of stations and the new music I constantly discovered. You just can’t find what Live 365 had anywhere. I am so disappointed and hope there is a way they can resurrect!

Live 365 closed 3 and a half months ago. They promised a refund that still has not arrived. I had paid for a full year in advance and need that money back. Anyone else experience the same problem. All e-mail accounts have been shutdown so how can we get in touch with them?

I signed on to the “VIP”. I HATE COMMERCIALS. I had thirty or so stations in my favorites list, from blues to heavy metal rock, jazz to Irish folk and punk and the infamous “Den of Inequity”, which that played some of the strangest, odd music i have ever heard. It was great. I miss it all.

I WANT IT BACK. Can’t stand pandora, hate iheart, have never tried spotify and don’t want to. Live365, please get your shit together, bring back what so many of us loved, radio stations that were run by individuals or very small groups. You could listen to one person’s musical vision, NOT a Corporations whose vision was money.

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